Leica R's vs Sigma 18-35 advice

[Jonesy Jones]

Ok. So I wanted to get this in before all the NAB craziness begins. 

Currently I own 3 Leica R lenses. 19mm ver ii, 60mm, and 100mm APO. I love them. They are not everyone's cup of tea but there is just something about them. I don't know, maybe it's skin tones, and just color in general. What they lack in modern coatings and micro contrast they make up for with beautiful flatness and natural color rendition. They're also expensive. I feel like I need to get a couple more primes on the lower end to have my bases covered, and that's money I don't necessarily have.

However, it has occurred to me the Sigma 18-35 and Metabones gives me all the focal lengths I basically ever use in one sharp fast lens. I guess having both the Leica's and the Sigma would be cool, but I'm not really well off enough for that. At least it wouldn't make sense to me. I'm kind of a 1 or the other kind of guy. My thought is that I could sell the Leica's and have enough to buy the Sigma and several other cool toys, like a gimbal for instance. The zoom also reduces production time a little imo. But is it worth the trade off? I love the look of the Leica's. Though maybe once you factor in color correction is there a significant difference? And once I sell the Leica's that's it. I know I would never buy them again. 

Maybe NAB is going to introduce some new wrinkles to this dilemma. Regardless, if you have some sage wisdom for me, or maybe you have experience with one or both of these lenses, I would love to hear from you.

I guess it's probably also worth mentioning that my filmmaking interests begin with narratives, some documentary, and commercial last and rarely. 

Thanks in advance.

[Nick Hughes]

You're going to miss those longer focal lengths if you sell those lenses. I'd keep at least the 100.

[Critter]

Hey Jonesy, 

I got the 18-35 a few weeks back. It is an incredible lens. It feels like a stack of primes, rather than a zoom (if that makes any sense), but I do find myself wanting a bit more on the tight side. You haven't said what you're shooting on (full frame / cropped) but for me, I haven't found the lens to be the be all and end all, master replacement lens I was hoping for. I would probably hang on to one of the long leicas and pair it with the sigma.

Just my 2c

[Geoff CB]

Keep them and save for the sigma on the used market. Your not going to get the same results at all visually with the Sigma, and if you sell those primes and regret it, you will have a difficult time finding them again. 

I've kept my Nikon prime set and slowly built up a set of tokina zooms. Completely different look to both of them. 4 of my current lenses I've owned, sold, then purchased again. With a heavy loss ~$1200 compared to if I just kept them and waited to buy what I wanted. 

At the very least rent the Sigma and Metabones for a day to try it out before you buy!

 

[Jonesy Jones]

I don't ever shoot full frame, or at least I never have. Mostly BMPC or Sony S35. I could live without the long lens. I shoot almost solely wide and normal, but still, I could pick up a decent long lens for those rare moments.

I think renting the Sigma is a great idea, but in the end, that may only make the decision harder.

[Geoff CB]

Why not just sell the 100mm APO then? That should be enough for the Sigma and metabones adapter. Keep the 19 and 60mm.